Christmas Tree Shops launched its first location in South Florida on Sunday at Coconut Point in Estero. The 35,000-square-foot store replaces Bed Bath & Beyond, which closed in February 2021 at the regional outdoor mall. The new retail outlet at 8020 Mediterranean Drive is between Michaels and Ross Dress for Less near SuperTarget.
Despite its yuletide name, Christmas Tree Shops is more than just a holiday store. In fact, its tagline is “Every Season. Every Reason” and it frequently shortens its name to CTS to downplay the confusing connection to Christmas. The discount store features a changing mix of seasonal décor, housewares, gifts, party goods, furniture and more at outlet prices.
Although this weekend will be Christmas Tree Shops’ soft opening at Coconut Point, the store’s grand opening celebration will be 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 10 with festivities that include swag bags for the first 200 people, food, music, face painting, giveaways, contests and a photo booth following an 11 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony, said Hannah Salkovitz, senior marketing manager for Christmas Tree Shops. “It will be a really fun day,” Salkovitz said. “We’ll be giving out swag the whole day.“
The new store’s hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The Estero store will be the third in Florida for Christmas Tree Shops, but other locations are coming in September to Pembroke Pines and Sarasota. The privately owned company also has Florida stores in Altamonte Springs and Jacksonville and operates 80 locations in 20 states.
Headquartered in New Jersey, the chain’s roots stretch to the 1950s when a small holiday store opened in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The concept expanded in 1970 under new ownership and the chain grew beyond the Northeast when it was acquired by Bed Bath & Beyond in 2003. Christmas Tree Shops was sold to a private company, Handil Holdings, in late 2020.
